Illusion Realm

That fox seemed to possess remarkably high intelligence. It looked humanely at the iron cage imprisoning it, a thoughtful expression appearing on its face.

If ordinary people saw this scene, they would surely cry out in disbelief. Spirit Beasts with intelligence were at least ten-thousand-year-level creatures, and exceptionally rare. Hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts could even speak human language.

The simple latch on the cage was practically useless against this fiery red Nine-Tails fox.

The fox stretched a small paw through the gap between the iron bars and effortlessly opened the door.

The little fox strolled out at an unhurried pace, as though it were human. Its fox face wore an arrogant, humanlike expression. It craned its neck to glance at Madara, sleeping on the bed, then took several steps back and leaped up with the momentum.

Madara had awakened the moment the cage door opened, but he continued pretending to sleep, wanting to see what this strange fox intended to do.

The fox darted onto the bedside cabinet and lowered its head, bringing its face closer to Madara's.

Just then, Madara suddenly opened his eyes, his blood-red gaze meeting the fox's directly.

Just as Madara thought the fox would flee in panic, a sudden change occurred.

The fox lowered its head to look at Madara, its mouth curling at both corners as though mocking him for overestimating himself.

Madara had no intention of indulging an animal's temper, even if this animal was strange and exceptionally intelligent.

He reached out, grabbed the fox by the neck, and sat up from the bed, intending to teach it a proper lesson.

Madara first swung it viciously through the air several times, then smashed it hard against the floor.

What Madara had not expected was that the cunning fox was incredibly agile. It instead used the force to twist its body around and landed steadily on the ground.

"What a beast!" Madara radiated a chilling aura as he tightly gripped the blood-colored Kunai in his hand, remaining carefully on guard.

The fox had not expected Madara's attitude to be so vile, nor his attacks to show the slightest mercy.

This thoroughly enraged it. Its crimson fur stood on end, its body hunching slightly as it bared its teeth, looking as though it were about to pounce.

Not good!

Madara suddenly felt frantic warnings ringing through his mind. A sense of life-and-death danger kept surfacing in his heart.

When Madara recovered his senses, he found himself in a void-like space. Everything around him was dim, as though there were neither direction nor time.

Madara slowly raised his head and discovered a colossal creature, vast enough to blot out the sky, sitting before him.

"Little ant! You were the one who threw me just now, weren't you?" The mountain-sized fox lowered its head and looked at Madara, who was as tiny as an ant, dangerous light flickering in its eyes.

"Kurama?" Madara raised his head without the slightest concern and asked tentatively.

"Who are you? How do you know the name of the senior who passed his power down to me?" Upon hearing Madara call that name, the fox rose to its feet in disbelief.

"So that's how it is?" The corners of Madara's mouth lifted slightly. Though he was only the size of an ant before the fox, he gave off the impression of a towering mountain.

Seeing Madara dare to ignore it, the fox roared in exasperation, "Who exactly are you?"

"Who am I? Didn't your senior tell you not to provoke anyone with a Sharingan?" Madara asked coldly.

"Hahaha! This is my mental space. Here, I can unleash all of my strength!" The fox threw back its head and laughed loudly, the gale it stirred up whipping Madara's black hair.

"So outside, you're just a stinking fox?" Madara suddenly felt that the creature before him was more than merely stupid. Compared to the real Nine-Tails, it was inferior by far.

Madara now roughly understood the source of that familiar feeling. This fox had originally been an ordinary Spirit Beast, but for some unknown reason, it had obtained the Nine-Tails' origin power and was unable to wield it.

That was why it had dragged Madara into its mental world, intending to kill or control him.

Madara guessed that this fox had originally been a Snow Fox. It had only mutated into red after obtaining the Nine-Tails' origin power.

And this ability, which clearly resembled genjutsu, was not something the Nine-Tails possessed. It should have come from the Snow Fox.

But using genjutsu against the Sharingan?

Within the Uchiha clan, Madara had always been known for taijutsu and ninjutsu. His genjutsu was merely average, far inferior to those two outstanding juniors of his. After all, both Itachi and Shisui's Mangekyo abilities were genjutsu. If they claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

But that did not mean the Sharingan's authority over genjutsu could be challenged by the half-baked genjutsu of some insignificant creature.

Even a fox that had gained the Nine-Tails' power was nothing. Back then, hadn't Kurama also been controlled by Madara and led around like a dog?

Madara said flatly, "Then remember this well! From now on, whenever you encounter a Sharingan, remember to stay out of its way!"

By now, the fox had calmed down and regained its earlier arrogant posture. It said disdainfully, "What are you supposed to be? You dare threaten me in my mental world?"

What was he supposed to be?

Madara was so angry that he laughed. A slightly larger ant actually dared to look down on Uchiha Madara without knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you, little bug, something Kurama never told you!" Madara cracked his knuckles and sneered.

A blind fool like this naturally needed a thorough lesson!

"Hahahahaha! You want to educate me? That's hilarious!" The fox that closely resembled Kurama laughed so hard that it clutched its stomach and rolled back and forth across the ground.

"This mental world is barely enough for me to stretch my legs," Madara muttered, standing firmly in place amid the earthquake caused by its rolling. He lowered his head and looked at his somewhat illusory fingers.

"The little bug should be you, shouldn't it?" The fox lowered itself, sitting on the ground with one paw supporting its chin as it spoke teasingly.

Madara said nothing. He treated the colossal creature before him as air and casually clenched his fingers into a fist.

"Little bug! No matter what you know, I will make you tell me!" The fox seemed to grow impatient. While one paw still supported its chin, the other reached toward Madara.

Its sharp claws rapidly closed in, intending to crush Madara to death like a little bug.

Madara slowly extended one hand. His frail-looking body appeared exceptionally tiny before the enormous claws.

On one side was a mountain-like giant, brimming with ferocity. On the other was Madara, like a mere ant. The tremendous contrast was striking.

But!

The claw that had been rushing forward suddenly came to a complete halt the moment it touched Madara's palm.

"Can I only use the Rinnegan's abilities?" Madara slowly straightened his bent arm, gradually pushing the claw back. A cold smile appeared on his lips. "I can finally stretch my muscles properly!"

Trash! Experience the power of the Uchiha!